Wine and brandy excise 2015: improved understanding of key challenges

Friday, 27 February, 2015
VinPro
The South African wine and brandy industry welcomed a concession from Government on the latest excise duty increases, saying it revealed a greater understanding of the industry and its challenges.

Excise hikes of 7% on natural wine, 7% on sparkling wine and 8.5% on brandy were announced by the Minister of Finance, Nhlanhla Nene, during the annual National Budget Speech on 25 February 2015.

“The above is the result of continuous open dialogue between industry and various Government departments around the unique challenges facing wine producers and cellars,” said Rico Basson, managing director of VinPro, the representative organisation for close to 3 500 wine producers and cellars.

Basson added that it is encouraging to see that Government alcohol tax reforms under consideration include providing excise duty relief to wine-based spirits such as brandy, as well as a review of the way excise duty on sparkling wine is calculated.

The South African wine and brandy industry contributes significantly to the country’s GDP and has close to 300 000 employees. The industry aims to grow its contribution to the South African economy, as part of the Wine Industry Strategic Exercise (Wise) – a new strategic framework striving towards an adaptable, robust, globally competitive and profitable wine and brandy industry.

“Collaboration with and support from Government, including a beneficial tax regime, will be key in achieving these objectives. We hope to build on this going forward,” said Basson.